Dave Roberts Doesn't Plan To Partake In First Pitch Ceremony Prior To Game 2 Of World Series
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox will be celebrating some legends prior to Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park. One such legend will be in attendance, but he won't be partaking.
"I'm going to be getting ready for a game," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday evening, prior to the start of Game 1.
While Roberts seemed to be looking forward to catching up with his teammates from the 2004 World Series, he doesn't plan on joining them for the throwing out of that first pitch.
"I got wind of it today. And I don't plan on partaking," Roberts said. "But I'll be there to watch and see those guys throw out the first pitch."
Some of those former players tabbed to throw out that first pitch include Pedro Martinez. Though Roberts' time with Boston was brief, he did execute what was the most significant stolen base in Red Sox history -- and perhaps in all of baseball history -- when he swiped second base in Game 4 of the ALCS. He ended up coming around to score the tying run when Bill Mueller singled of Mariano Rivera, and the Red Sox didn't lose another game en route to breaking an 86-year curse.
That's the type of impact that doesn't get forgotten in Boston. And Roberts, who's managing in his second consecutive World Series in just his third year on the job, did say that he's bumped into a few Red Sox fans this week.
"I've kind of tried to lay low," Roberts said of his activity in Boston these past few days. "But some of the fans that I did see, they're still more on the supportive side. So the series hadn't started yet, so they're still supporting me and thanking me. We'll see if that changes."
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.